Alice Walton

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Good morning, readers. Welcome to the Maven's Morning Coffee -- a listing of the important headlines, news conferences, public meetings and announcements you need to know to fuel up and tackle your day.

Today is Thursday, Dec. 6, and here is what's happening in Los Angeles:

Headlines

The Los Angeles Times looks at the mayoral campaign of attorney Kevin James. "In the past couple of months he's gone from being an afterthought to a long shot to a plausible outsider candidate," said Dan Schnur of USC's Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics.

Andrea Alarcon's "rise and fall" is detailed by the LA Weekly ."As good as 2011 was for Alarcon, however, it also marked the beginning of a public fall from grace that ended last month, when her social life bested her political life," according to the piece.

LAObserved talked to the hospitalized Mike Feuer. "He said he's up and around, isn't in too much pain, and even got to drink some apple juice," Kevin Roderick writes. Feuer was involved in a car crash Monday when a Chevy Tahoe allegedly ran a red light and rammed into his Prius.

A Los Angeles Times editorial supports Sheriff Lee Baca's decision not to detain illegal immigrants for low-level offenses. The Times calls Secure Communities, "both fiscally imprudent — since the federal government doesn't reimburse the county — and poor public policy, given that the current jail system is so overcrowded that many inmates are released before serving their full sentences."

An audit by Controller Wendy Greuel finds the Department of Aging needs a better system to track its services, reports the Daily News. An audit concluded that department officials need to know how many people it serves and how it reaches out to the elderly community.

Alex De Ocampo's run for the Los Angeles City Council's Thirteenth District was endorsed by Rep. Brad Sherman.

Where to Find the Politicians

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa will sign ordinances approving long-term solar power contracts for the DWP at Occidental College at 10 a.m. At 8 a.m, the mayor will appear on CNN and then at 3:30 p.m., Villaraigosa will appear on HuffPost Live.

Previously in Represent!

Represent! is your eye on how well government serves citizens and the public interest in Southern California. KPCC's politics and government team posts frequently on transparency, civic engagement, reform efforts and accountability. We invite your comments and suggestions — follow us on Twitter at the links below.